Fresh Outta College

[I wrote this article 3 years ago, March 2019. I re-shared it at work today, and got asked if I could share it for new grads outside of Microsoft to see. So I am publishing it here for anyone interested to utilize.]

Intro

Hi! I am Sarp, and today is my 6 month mark at my first job out of college! As a result, I am writing this post addressed to a hypothetical college hire that has joined Microsoft after me. It is a non-comprehensive list of some of the culture shocks I had while transitioning from college to full time work. No two experiences are the same, but I hope some of the insights I’ve gathered in the last couple of months can be helpful in guiding you through this interesting/peculiar/overwhelming/rewarding period. With that said, let’s get going!

Styles of Communication

Communication, and especially feedback, is indirect and somewhat cushioned in college (at least in my college). In the workplace, it is direct and succinct. Both in e-mail communications and in-person discussions, I have noticed that the style of communication is much more forthright. It might take some time to adapt to this style and understand its value. It requires bilateral trust that all the stakeholders have the same goal in mind (Making a high quality feature, a healthy state, etc.) and direct does not mean careless. On the contrary, making a precise point succinctly takes more work than serving a plate full of ambiguous ideas. Everyone is involved in numerous discussions every day, so there is a common understanding that it is easier for all of us if we can get the point across quickly. It would be good to learn not to expect the long essay/debate format you may have been used to in college. That said, I still struggle with the idea that people won’t have time to read the entirety of an e-mail, so you have to be loud and clear. As you should be able to tell by now, I am a talker, so I have to actively keep myself from writing e-mails that outline the entire problem space, history, etc. Anyways, I digress — TLDR:

Less is More.

Self-Made Deadlines

In college, deadlines are clear, systematized and irrelevant once they pass. You have a deadline for a paper or a problem set, and whether you do it well or poorly, the project does not occupy any mental space after the deadline. In a workplace, there is no line in the sand after which the project loses its significance. Whatever you are working on Wednesday afternoon will still be there on Thursday morning. Nobody will know the small milestones that need to be reached to get a unit of work done, except for you. Neither your manager, nor your buddy will be occupied with the level of detail that you will be responsible for. So, it is up to you to make your own deadlines and hold yourself accountable to those. As self-management is difficult, it becomes extra important to be on top of your own schedule.

This newly found freedom (and responsibility) may take some adjusting to. You do not receive a grade for each assignment, and nobody micro-manages each task you have. The equivalent of adhering to deadlines college is setting expectations at work. TLDR:

Deadlines don’t exist. Except they do.

Hierarchies (or Lack Thereof)

In college, professors expected to be addressed a certain way. There was an apparent “clout” around them, and sometimes the hierarchies were felt heavily in interactions. In my experience at work, hierarchy rarely gets in your way. I can’t recall any moment in my half year where I was shut down as a new hire/level-59/PM 1. In fact, the difficulty is in unlearning the idea that hierarchies should determine communication. Conversations are much less productive if you prevent yourself from providing an opinion because person X is in the room. Of course, adjusting the level of detail in a discussion is important, but holding onto your opinions due to hierarchy is never necessary.  

Exemplary anecdote: On a recent 1:1 meeting, my manager asked me:"So what will be your next project?" If you are like me, this is an unexpected way to determine workload. Prior to Microsoft, my intuition was that work is divided top-down, not bottom-up! It may be overwhelming to have a say in your own projects, but it should be rewarding, too. The main point is, try to have genuine conversations with your manager. Their job is to unblock you, as much as anything else. TLDR:

Org charts are complicated, but you can mostly ignore them.

Conclusion

Your first job out of college will require a whole lot of learning. Fortunately, most of the learning happens unconsciously, while you are busy taking on the daily tasks of your first project. I found that all the cliche-sounding pieces of advice you get in onboarding sessions are true:

• Ask as many questions as you need.

• There is no need to be afraid of failing.

• If you feel impostor syndrome, it means that you are being challenged.

Good luck out there, and don't forget, everyone around you had a first day of work!